"That's right! You can't directly interfere in Luffy's affairs, so I'll handle it from now on!"
"By the way! How did the old man end up in the East Blue?"
Luffy's family is indeed quite unique. His grandfather is Hero of the Marines, his father is the leader of the Revolutionary Army, and he himself wants to be a pirate. It's like trying to have a say in all three factions.
In particular, Dragon's identity is something the World Government deeply resents. If they knew Luffy was Dragon's son, they would definitely kill him before Luffy even grew up, or use him as a hostage to threaten Dragon. Even having a Hero of the Marines as a grandfather wouldn't help.
Vic was curious about how Garp ended up in Foosha Village. This scene wasn't in the original story. Could it be that the old man had broken through his limits and this was the reason for it?
"Of course I'm back from vacation! I want to see what kind of trouble my grandson can cause! Hahaha!"
Garp laughed heartily, but his voice seemed to be blocked by an invisible barrier, unable to travel more than two meters away. Otherwise, such a loud laugh would definitely have alerted Luffy and the people seeing him off at the dock. But now, those people were completely unaware, as if the two sides were in two different spaces.
Oh! I see!
It wasn't too Vic that the old man had come back on his own initiative, because the current Garp wasn't the same Garp from the original story who wanted Ace and Luffy the Marines. The current Garp had come to terms with it. If the original Garp had known when Luffy sail, he probably would have stopped Luffy and then taken him to the Marines for some serious training, right?
In the original story, Garp was in the East Blue during this period. He was the one who cleaned up the mess after Luffy and Zoro defeated Morgan. It was only a few days before and after that. Did he really not go back to Foosha Village to spy on Luffy sail in the original story?
Dragon was also present in the East Blue during that period and rescued Luffy from Smoker in Loguetown. Did he secretly witness Luffy sail?
Did this father and son secretly witness this moment, only to have it omitted from the original story? Otherwise, wouldn't it be too much of a coincidence? The father and son appeared several times in quick succession after Luffy sail; it's far too coincidental!
And why would Garp bring Koby back to Marine Headquarters for special training? Did he really see potential in Koby? Could someone with that timid, cowardly, and timid short stature really have potential? I doubt it!
Was Garp secretly monitoring Luffy's every move, knowing about Luffy and Koby's relationship, which is why he chose to take Coby away? Was he thinking, "If I can train him, great; if not, so be it?" After all, even if Koby doesn't fare well, he'll at least have a position in the Navy, which would be a decent reward for being friends with Luffy, right?
Thinking about it, Vic realized that in the original story, the father and son had probably been watching Luffy ever since Luffy. At least Dragon had always been close to Luffy, and he had saved Luffy twice in Loguetown alone.
Anyway, they've probably been following East Blue all along. As for whether they're still secretly following him once he reaches the Grand Line, Vic isn't entirely sure. In other words, regardless of whether Vic has changed Garp or not, the old man won't stop Luffy a pirate?
Of course, there is another possibility: in the original work, Garp returned to the East Blue too late. He originally wanted to return to the East Blue to stop Luffy sea to become a pirate, but when he returned to the East Blue, he found that Luffy had already set sail.
Then, he wanted to catch up with Luffy, but the Marine Headquarters assigned him a nearby mission: to take Morgan, that traitor, back to headquarters for trial. That's why he gave up on continuing the pursuit of Luffy.
All of these possibilities exist, it's just a matter of degree, but Garp's appearance in the East Blue at that time must have had a deeper meaning.
The three didn't exchange any more words after that, and all their attention was on Luffy. Luffy and Ace's personal charm was undeniable. Although they both wanted to go to sea to become pirates, they both received help from the villagers of Foosha Village.
The villagers knew that the two children were not bad at heart, and that even if they became pirates, they wouldn't do anything heinous. So when they went out to sea, they would all come over to see if there was anything they could do to help.
Luffy's voyage proceeded smoothly, much like in the original story. Last time, Ace Lord of the Coast, whose whereabouts were unknown, blocked Luffy's small boat.
This guy probably remembered Luffy's presence and came out to show off on purpose. Then, under everyone's watchful eyes, Luffy knocked down the Lord of the Coast with a single punch!
When Ace set sail, he had already Awakening Observation Haki and knew the path he would take in the future. This was something that Vic had specially strengthened to prevent Ace from repeating the same mistakes.
However, Luffy's strength is not much different from that in the original work. Vic doesn't need to worry too much about Luffy's growth; he will get what he needs in the future.
So over the years, Vic has only strengthened Luffy's foundation, forged his will to be more resilient than steel, and greatly improved his combat experience and fighting instincts. In short, his future path will be easier, and the improvement in combat power will not leave any hidden dangers.
Luffy disappeared above the horizon. Vic said goodbye to Garp and his son and left. Vic wasn't too concerned about what Garp and Dragon would do next, since he had already guessed that Luffy would be fine in the East Blue.
Just as Luffy set sail from Foosha Village to become a pirate, a major event occurred on the Moby Dick in a certain sea in the New World!
The Dark-Dark Fruit Blackbeard Marshall D. Teach had been longing for was found by Thatch, the fourth division commander. Apart from Blackbeard, who had seen the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia and recognized the purple Devil Fruit, everyone else was guessing what kind of Devil Fruit it was.
So when Thatch obtained the Devil Fruit, he didn't eat it right away. No one wants to eat a worthless Devil Fruit; at the very least, he would struggle with the decision. It was this hesitation about the unknown that led Thatch's life to its end!
Perhaps Blackbeard's persistent thoughts had resonated with him, Dark-Dark Fruit, influenced by his will, indeed appeared nearby. However, he was a little unlucky; he wasn't the first to discover the Dark-Dark Fruit.
However, as long as Thatch doesn't eat the Dark-Dark Fruit right away, that's his chance—the chance he's been waiting for since he boarded the Moby Dick as a child!
He was willing to kill anyone for this opportunity, including the man he had called "Pops" for decades. Then Thatch was killed, and his Devil Fruit disappeared, as did Marshall D. Teach!
Having obtained the Dark-Dark Fruit, Blackbeard no longer needed to hide his abilities. He had acquired the resources to realize his ambitions and needed to build his own power. He no longer needed to hide within the Whitebeard Pirates. Therefore, he knew who killed Thatch without even needing to investigate.
Killing a comrade is a major taboo on the Moby Dick, something Whitebeard would never tolerate. Since Blackbeard is a member of the second division, Ace, the second division commander, must personally bring him back to be punished.
Ace then left the Moby Dick to pursue Blackbeard. Given the strength Blackbeard had displayed, Ace was quite confident that he could capture him.
Blackbeard was well aware that killing Thatch was a major taboo for his Pops, but he had to do it for his own ambition, and he also knew that he would face Ace's pursuit next!
Blackbeard acknowledged Ace's strength. Before Dark-Dark Fruit, Blackbeard would have undoubtedly lost. After eating the Dark-Dark Fruit, the two were evenly matched, and Blackbeard wasn't confident he could defeat Ace.
So, in order to find companions and get away from Ace, he left the New World and came to the first half of the Grand Line, even venturing out to the Four Blues to find the companions he desired.
While gathering information, Ace was also pursuing Blackbeard. The incident on the Moby Dick had caused quite a stir in the New World, and the major powers were aware of it. After all, trying to find out Blackbeard's whereabouts would inevitably reveal a lot of information!